


Cinema Cyberdisio

by Decepticonsensual



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-02-23
Packaged: 2018-01-13 12:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1225933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decepticonsensual/pseuds/Decepticonsensual
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not Shockwave's relationship with Soundwave that takes some getting used to; it's the family that comes along with it.  </p><p>Slight suggestiveness, no other warnings.  You could think of this as a mini-sequel “The Properties of Sound”, but you don’t have to read that to understand this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cinema Cyberdisio

Shockwave is accustomed to working under adverse conditions.  He can dismantle (or set) an explosive one-handed while laser fire skims over his helm.  He can coordinate an attack on an enemy army from inside a base that artillery bombardment is shaking apart around him.

Conducting a mineral sample while being sat on by four minicons is new, but he’s adaptable.

“Looking for this, kitty-kitty?”  Rumble, from his perch atop Shockwave’s head, is dangling the remote control to the entertainment console between two fingers.  Ravage stops pacing the floor long enough to launch himself upwards and snap.  Rumble yanks the remote back, almost tumbling off in the process; he grabs Shockwave’s antenna to keep from falling.  “Too slow, fangface!”

“Rumble, kindly do not pull on those.”  If Shockwave’s voice is a little strangled, it’s the only outward sign of pain.  “The machinery is delicate.”

“Sorry, Shockwave.”  Shockwave can all but hear the optic roll in his voice, but Rumble does straighten up and pet the antenna in apology.  Ravage takes advantage of his momentary distraction to strike again.  Rumble shouts in alarm and tosses the remote in the air, where Frenzy, leaning out dangerously from his position on Shockwave’s right shoulder, manages to snag it.  The twins high-five, and Ravage sits back on his haunches, growling.  From Shockwave’s left shoulder, Laserbeak’s grating caw-laugh mingles with Ratbat’s delighted chittering.

Ravage turns his glare on them.  _Traitors,_ his look clearly says.

Behind him, Shockwave hears the door to the lab slide open, and a sharp in-vent, followed by determined footsteps advancing on his position.  “Rumble.  Frenzy.  Operation:  Assist Shockwave with experiments.  This, cassettes’ definition of assisting?”

“Sorry, Boss,” the twins chorus.  From the corner of his optic, Shockwave can see Laserbeak and Ratbat dip their heads.  Only Ravage seems unfazed by his carrier’s reprimand.  The cat radiates smugness as he watches his siblings through half-lidded optics.  His EM field flares in confusion and indignation, however, when Soundwave rounds on him.

“Ravage:  intended to retrieve specimens for Shockwave.”  Placing the fingertips of one hand very lightly along Shockwave’s back and drawing in close to him, Soundwave asks, “Shockwave:  experimenting on entertainment console remote?”

“I did not intend to do so,” Shockwave deadpans.

Soundwave makes a _see?_ gesture to Ravage, who lays his ears back and gives a muffled yowl of protest.

“They are not bothering me,” Shockwave says quietly in Soundwave’s audial.

“Appreciated,” Soundwave murmurs.  “But intention, to lighten Shockwave’s work.  Not to increase burden.”

“It is of little consequence.  I do not immediately require additional samples.”  He glances at Soundwave, then nonchalantly turns to cap off the test tube he was working with.  “In fact, I believe the active part of today’s experiments is complete.  The mineral will require time to precipitate out of solution.”

Soundwave’s visor glows, and he slides his hand fully onto Shockwave’s back, where it rests, warm, against his plating.

At the same time, Rumble and Frenzy drop to the ground with loud whoops, and run from the room, Frenzy waving the remote control in the air.  Laserbeak and Ratbat hurtle after them, the former turning a joyful loop-de-loop.  Even Ravage moves with more eagerness than usual, despite the careful disdain in his expression.  Shockwave knows why.  By stopping work early, on today of all days, the scientist has signalled that he intends to join Soundwave’s brood in their most baffling tradition:  Movie Night.

The point of Movie Night is still obscure to him.  Once a week, Soundwave and the cassettes gather to review an Earth film of some kind.  Shockwave has never had much tolerance for fiction, and no interest at all in fiction that centres entirely on the emotional lives of a ludicrously short-lived alien species.  True, Soundwave has patiently explained the potential for better understanding human psychology, and thereby finding ways to manipulate the Autobots’ allies, and Shockwave will even admit that the pursuit could have some value – for Soundwave.  The cassettes, though, are clearly not taking part in any deeper analysis, and are so disruptive that it’s a wonder Soundwave can concentrate on the films at all.  The entire proceeding seems, if not illogical, then at least extremely inefficient.

However, Shockwave agreeing to join in reliably makes Soundwave’s EM field light up.  An irrational reaction, perhaps, from Shockwave’s perspective, and yet… oddly satisfactory.

When the door closes behind the cassettes, Soundwave turns to wrap his arms around Shockwave, momentarily retracting his mask to brush a kiss over the abused antenna.

“Warning issued:  Tonight, Frenzy’s turn to select movie.”

Shockwave takes this information in stride, nuzzling against the side of Soundwave’s helm.  The quality of the entertainment tends to vary predictably as the choice rotates among the cassettes.  The birds generally select the most palatable films.  Buzzsaw favours a genre called “horror”, and while it does not generate the emotional response in Shockwave that the name suggests, he does find the movies interesting from a scientific standpoint:  visual explorations of humans’ physical vulnerabilities and the many and varied ways that exist to offline the creatures.  Laserbeak, with her endless curiosity, tends to pick documentaries, and these, too, have some value, if only as indications of the current human understanding of science.

The twins, however, prefer action films.  Shockwave’s interest in explosions is limited to their chemical properties (and occasional tactical uses), and the stories, such as they are, hold little appeal.  He can’t even bring himself to suspend disbelief long enough to share in the cassettes’ evident glee at seeing Autobot-like cars flipped over or blown up (Frenzy is particularly fond of a series called _The Fast and the Furious_ ).  Still, anything is preferable to Ravage being in charge of choosing the movie.  Ravage considers inferior human ideas of genre and plot beneath his notice; his only criterion is that he likes films with big cats in them.  Which is how the group ended up watching something called _Puma Man,_ a puzzling account of a flying human, about which the others tease Ravage to this day.

Shockwave’s hand wraps around the back of Soundwave’s neck, digging in a little to the tensely knotted wiring there.  Soundwave lets out a deep vent against Shockwave’s audial, sagging a little so that his helm is resting on Shockwave’s shoulder.

“It would be illogical to delay the inevitable,” Shockwave says after a few moments, with a reluctance that is less about the movie and more about the deliciously warm weight of the mech leaning against him.

Soundwave straightens up slowly.  “Affirmative.”  They stroll a short distance down the corridor to the suite of rooms Shockwave has set aside for Soundwave on his visits to Cybertron, and step inside to find six small faces watching them with rapt attention.  Buzzsaw has returned from patrol to join his siblings.  All of them hover around the massive, plush sofa, and practically vibrate with eagerness; Frenzy is actually dancing from foot to foot.

As soon as Soundwave and Shockwave sit down, all six cassettes pile on top of them.  Each of the larger mechs ends up with a twin in his lap (Rumble slouching down and pillowing his head against Shockwave’s chest, while Frenzy bounces excitedly on Soundwave’s knee) and a bird on one shoulder.  Ratbat wraps his wings around himself and snuggles into a ball atop Shockwave’s head, and Ravage curls up on the arm of the sofa next to Soundwave, pausing a moment to butt his helm affectionately against his carrier’s shoulder.  Soundwave scratches behind his ears.

This degree of touch is new to Shockwave.  At first, it was overwhelming – too much heat, too many EM fields brushing and pushing against his own, an uncomfortable riot of noise and sensation.  Noticing his distress during that first movie night, Soundwave ordered the cassettes to give Shockwave space, and moved a large chair from the command centre so that he could sit separately if he desired.  Over time, though, Shockwave gradually migrated towards the sofa.  The rest came even more slowly:  offering a light touch on the shoulder here, granting a request to be picked up there.  By now, he thinks nothing of being on the bottom of a pile of lazy cassettes.

The experience could even be called pleasant at times, Shockwave muses, as Soundwave slides an arm around him and pulls him close.

The movie for the evening seems to be a fictional account of Cybertronians fighting interdimensional invaders to protect the Earth.  An unusual tale, to be sure, although Shockwave supposes it’s only natural for the humans’ art to reflect the profound changes to their world that are the result of Cybertronians living among them.  At least, that’s what he thinks, until the camera pans inside the main character’s helm, and –

Rumble sits up so abruptly that he sends his bag of energon chips flying backwards over Shockwave.  “That mech’s got _fleshies_ inside his processor!”

“EWWWWW!”  Frenzy recoils in delighted horror.  “I think they’re controllin’ him!  With that weird little fleshie dance!”  And, indeed, the humans are moving in some kind of synchronised way that seems to be driving their helpless Cybertronian slave forward.

Shockwave has to admit that this is the most fascinating Earth film he’s seen to date.

Unfortunately, the exact nature of the humans’ control over their captive is never explored, and after revealing that humans are capable of telepathic connections similar to sparkbonding (a fact that Shockwave files away for later analysis), the film degenerates into battle scenes and images of human mating rituals.  Shockwave begins to feel himself slipping towards recharge.  He settles against Soundwave’s shoulder, letting the communication officer’s skilful fingers find the sensitive spots behind his antennae and gently scratch them.  So low that it’s inaudible even to the cassettes perching on them, Soundwave hums against Shockwave’s audial, and reaches over with his other hand to twine their fingers together.

Shockwave dozes contentedly, waking as the credits roll to find Rumble knuckling his optics and declaring loudly that he is “not cryin’ over a stupid movie, ya slagger”.  Frenzy grins and shoves him, and Rumble smacks his twin on the shoulder.  Shockwave catches Rumble around the waist before the two can start to wrestle in earnest.

Soundwave begins to shepherd the cassettes out to their own individual quarters, and Frenzy snickers as he goes, turning to look back at Rumble, who flips one hand up in an insulting gesture.  The other hand, though, is still covering his visor.  Once the others are out of sight, Rumble slumps forward, and his vents start hiccupping.

Shockwave freezes, completely at a loss for how to solve a lapful of crying minicon.  This is entirely outside his protocols.  After a long moment of frantic calculation, he lifts his hand and very, very tentatively pats Rumble’s helm.

Rumble says nothing, but his ventilation slows, and he sits up a little straighter.

“Rumble, return.”  Soundwave’s voice is soft as he closes the door behind the other minicons and circles back to the sofa.  Nodding, Rumble transforms and docks inside Soundwave’s chest.  Soundwave pets the glass, playing a few soothing bars of music to the distraught cassette within.

Shockwave rises, discovering with a faint shudder of distaste that a few of Rumble’s energon chips have slipped into the cracks of his armour.  “I can see that he requires your attention.  I will leave you.”

“Rumble:  likely to be in recharge within the joor.  Soundwave, will message Shockwave.”

It’s a casual remark, as if they’re discussing duty rosters.

The mischievous flare in Soundwave’s EM field, though, as he reaches forward and snags an overlooked energon chip from atop Shockwave’s chest plating, retracting his mask to pop it in his mouth and suck the sticky fuel off his fingers – that’s a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> For those who don’t know, Puma Man is a superhero movie from 1980 that was the subject of a classic MST3K parody. The movie the gang is watching tonight is, of course, Pacific Rim.


End file.
